1738 - Madrid's Real Academia de la Historia (or Royal Academy of History) was founded by King Felipe V to study history 'ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of civilization, and of the culture of the Spanish people'; the Academy currently has 370 members.

1831 - The University of Alabama was founded, featuring a strong curriculum of book-larnin', cipherin', and such.

1848 - An American victory by General Winfield Scott against Antonio López de Santa Anna at the Battle of Cerro Gordo opened the way for the US invasion of Mexico during the Mexican-American War; in addition to inflicting heavy casualties against their opponents (including the death of General Ciriaco Vasquez and the capture of his fellow generals Luis Pinzon, Jose M. Jarrero, R. Diaz de La Vega, Manuel Norriega, and Jose Obando) Scott's men forced Santa Anna to flee on horseback without the benefit of his prosthetic leg, which is still on display at the Illinois National Guard in Springfield to this day.

1880 - An F4 tornado struck Marshfield, Missouri, killing 99 people and injuring 100; while there's nothing so unusual about that, according to Ripley's Believe It or Not! one of the survivors was a child in a cradle, found up a tree! That would make this particular tornado one of the most remembered in history, as it has been considered the genesis of the nursery rhyme Rock A Bye Baby, even if it turns out the story is utter bunk; the verse is actually much older, and originated - as these things often do - as an English satire called Lilliburlero.

1915 - French pilot Roland Garros was shot down and glided (glid?) to a landing behind German lines during World War I; having failed to destroy his plane, its interrupter gear was eventually seized, costing the Allies their tactical edge. The resulting Fokker Scourge brought a new level of carnage to aerial combat.

1923 - Yankee Stadium - also known as The House that Ruth Built - opened; it has since been torn down.

1942 - The Doolittle Raid - the first attack on the Japanese mainland by American forces - was made in retaliation for Japan's earlier attack on Pearl Harbor; although the raid - planned by Lieutenant-Colonel James 'Jimmy' Doolittle - did prove that bombers could successfully be launched from aircraft carriers, the raid was otherwise tactically indecisive.

My Personality Type

What Kind Of Liberal Am I?

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Social Justice Crusader, also known as a rights activist. You believe in equality, fairness, and preventing neo-Confederate conservative troglodytes from rolling back fifty years of civil rights gains.